Legislation -
Referred to Committee
(Senate)
-
Sept. 19, 2012

Vote Result

Yea Votes

Nay Votes

A vote to pass a bill that limits the continuation of loan guarantees under the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

Highlights:

Prohibits the Secretary of Energy from issuing new loan guarantees after December 31, 2011 (Sec. 3).

Requires the following action to be taken when considering pending applications submitted before December 31, 2011 (Sec. 3):

The Secretary of Treasury must write an analysis of the financial terms and conditions of the loan guarantee proposed by the Secretary of Energy; and

The Secretary of Energy must submit a written explanation of their guarantee to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources if the guarantee is inconsistent with the Secretary of Treasury’s written analysis.

Requires the Secretary of Energy to submit a report to House and Senate committees that includes the following (Sec. 3):

The decision making process the Secretary of Energy used to make the guarantee;

The terms of the guarantee;

The recipient; and

The technology and project for which the guarantee will be used.

Prohibits the reorganization, restructuring, and termination of guarantees from being subordinated to other financing (Sec. 5).

Requires the Comptroller General to conduct a study from fiscal years 2003 to 2012 that focuses on federal subsidies in energy markets and identifies the following (Sec. 7):

Costs to the United States Treasury;

Impacts on United States energy security;

Impacts on electricity prices;

Impacts on transportation fuel prices;

Impacts on private energy-related industries not benefiting from Federal subsidies in energy markets;

Federal subsidies provided to foreign persons or corporations; and

Subsidies and direct financial interest in support of energy markets of the 15 foreign countries with the largest gross domestic product.